A Night to Remember: Is Live Music Truly Favored More Than Sex?

Imagine having a open night. You are refreshed, ready for adventure, and wanting to break from your regular habits of post-work slumping. The world awaits your choice! Would you choose a) attending a concert or b) being with a partner? The answer, as frequently seen with such kinds of hypotheticals, is plainly: “That depends.” Mature individuals may reasonably inquire: what's the concert? With whom is the other person? Is it going to be enjoyable?

Not many would select a Limp Bizkit/Slipknot/Korn triple bill if the alternative was a magical night with a beloved celebrity. But adjust any part of the comparison, and it becomes less obvious. In the case of the participants asked this question through a live event company, no further details was offered – and the answer came out clearly and heavily supporting concerts.

Survey Results Reveal Surprising Preferences

A worldwide report, questioning 40,000 people ranging from 18 and 54 from multiple countries, revealed that live music currently stand as the number one pastime, ranking above sports, cinema and – yes – sexual intercourse. If restricted to one type of enjoyment for the rest of their lives, a significant portion selected gigs, against watching movies (17%) and games (14%). Participants were more than twice as inclined to choose watching their top musician in concert (70%) over sex (30%).

You arrive hopeful of being pleasantly surprised – and quite often you’ll end up with another person's locks in your mouth

Context and Considerations

Of course it makes sense that a PR survey commissioned by a gig organizer would result so heavily supporting live shows – and, with the speculative tone of a would-you-rather, if your preferred musician is, such as an iconic star, one can appreciate why watching him could prevail instead of a ordinary experience. However this either-or decision between gigs or sexual activity, plainly ridiculous though it may be, is interesting to think about given the odd moment we face with each.

The Change of Live Music Experience

Lately, concert attendance has evolved into more than a communal experience but a serious endeavor. Major promoters duly point out that large venue turnout has “increased threefold each year”, and music festivals get booked up faster than ever. Simply getting tickets now demands military-level planning, rapid-fire response times and deep finances (or a substantial budget). Though you manage, it isn't sufficient to merely attend and experience the event. There’s now an assumption, at least among pop fans, that you could increase your experience quality by going multiple times (potentially going abroad), swotting up on the performance lineup ahead of time and understanding the rituals to hit and calls-and-responses created by past attendees.

Numerous concertgoers admit to affected by their experience at large concerts: appearing as a orchestrated show of thousands of people, where some individuals turned up unaware of the routine. That 18-month concert series, generating billions, showed of the lengths to which people will go to participate in a cultural moment and watch their preferred performer play, even if the real performance seems increasingly less important than the spectacle.

The Situation of Contemporary Sexuality

Sexual activity, conversely – an affordable and accessible pleasure – is in dire straits. Per recent surveys, approximately 25% of adults had sex in an typical week, while just under a third were sexually inactive. In a different nation, current statistics showed that a significant portion of adults reported not having intimacy a single time in the past year, rising from smaller percentages in previous decades. Across these regions, the shift has been attributed to decreased encounters in youth demographics. Compare this with the market driving growth for stadium extravaganzas and the fierce battle for passes. Naturally it’s not as simple as a simple decision between either option – “would you rather attend a huge concert repeatedly, or stay celibate?” – but it's possibly an sign of what is viewed as the more dependable satisfaction.

Unexpected Similarities

Intimacy and concerts are more comparable than one may assume. Both represent the activation of a relationship, a real-world test of ideas or potential that may have developed only in your head. You arrive with some idea of the probable outcome, but hopeful of being delightfully amazed – and whether it proves enjoyable or disappointing relies heavily on whether your energy and anticipations match theirs. Frequently you’ll end up with a stranger's hair in your mouth, and later be waiting around for a smoke and personal space by yourself. And, in both cases, substances and drinks can either enhance or reduce the event (but absolutely assist the most dire situations easier to weather).

Finding the Balance

The wonder to both gigs and sex hinges on finding that hard-to-find balance between the known and the new, consistency and change, work and relaxation. Naturally it happens only rarely – but it's the remembrance of successful moments, the awareness that it’s possible, that motivates us to try again: to {